David Cook is the seventh American Idol

On May 21, 2008, David Roland Cook was crowned the seventh American Idol, with the teenage David Archuleta as the runner-up. American Idol judge Simon Cowell was rooting for him anyway. Cook then sang "The Time of My Life", the winning song of American Idol season 8. "The Time of My Life" was written by Regie Hamm and produced by Steve Lipson.

Son of Beth (née Frye) and Stan Cook, David Roland Cook was born in Houston, Texas, on December 20, 1982. He was raised in Blue Springs, Missouri. His younger brother Andrew attends the University of Central Missouri, and his older brother Adam resides in Terre Haute, Indiana. Cook's parents divorced during his childhood. His mother remarried and became known as Beth Foraker. His father relocated to Indianapolis, India.

Cook's interest in music began during childhood. He received his first guitar at the age of 12. He began singing in second grade, when his elementary school music teacher had him sing solo in a school choir performance. He proceeded to perform in virtually every Christmas and PTA program. He also participated in choir and drama programs and middle and high school. He performed various musicals, such as West Side Story (which is based on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet). He was also an avid baseball player in high school. He lost interest in sports and began to focus more on music. He attended the University of Central Missouri. When he was in college, he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa. After graduating from college,
he relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to pursue a music career, telling his family, "I just want to give myself until I'm 26 years old to get a job."

Cook was the lead singer of the band called Axium, a Missouri-based band, from 1999 to 2006, when Axium disbanded. He formed the band during his junior year in high school with drummer Bobby Kerr. One of Axium's songs, "Hold", was selected by AMC Theatres Movies Tunes and was played before previews on over 20,000 screens across the United States. After Axium disbanded, Cook relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and joined the regional touring band called Midwest Kings, as a guitarist, bassist, and backup vocalist. He recorded an EP entitled Incoherent with Desire to Move On, with Midwest Kings in 2006. He worked as a bartender in Tulsa clubs such as Blank State and Rehab Lounge.

Cook released an independent solo album, entitled Analog Heart, in 2006. He designed the artwork for the album. The album was declared the fourth-best CD released in 2006 by the website Music Equals Life. Cook also won the Urban Tulsa Weekly's "Absolute Best of Tulsa" award for "Best Locally Produced, Independent Album" in 2007. Before he auditioned for American Idol, he finished recording his second album. During the weekend of April 18, 2008, Analog Heart was listed as the no. 1 album for "Today's Top MP3 Albums" on Amazon.com. Shortly thereafter, Analog Heart was deleted from Amazon.com.

Cook's musical influences include Our Lady Peace, Alice in Chains, Big Wreck, and Pearl Jam.